ByStaff, Associated PressSeptember 3, 2014

Most parents are quick to make sure their kids stay clear of appliances, especially those big enough to squeeze inside of, including washing machines and refrigerators. When it comes to the case of a young girl found in a running washing machine at a laundromat, no one is quite sure how she ended up on the inside.

Police in Pasadena, Texas, say a 5-year-old Texas girl has been hospitalized after she was trapped inside the running washing machine.

Police say the child "was tumbling pretty fast" for several minutes Tuesday before a customer noticed at Le's Washateria laundromat.

Police told reporters, “unfortunately she spun around in that washing machine for several minutes and apparently it was on high speed…she was tumbling pretty fast in there…. one person walked by and said they saw something flopping around in there they thought it was just a dress or something because it was moving pretty fast,” according to NBC affiliate WIAT-TV.

The girl was airlifted to a Houston hospital. Police say she is expected to survive.

Police could not say how the girl became trapped inside the machine nor how it was started. Police say the manager told a woman who had tried to use the machine earlier that it wasn't working correctly and returned her money.

The laundromat owner says an employee used circuit breakers to stop the machine.

It's unclear who was watching the child. Police are investigating.

A 2012 report from U.S. News and World Report says that washing machines injuries in the home, including fatalities, are rare, but not unprecedented. According to the report, between 2005 and 2009 two children under the age of five died in laundry room accidents. Injuries are reportedly more common, including burns from hot water and bruising when kids come in contact with moving parts on washing machines.